6 Weirdest, Most Outlandish ‘Riverdale’ Theories

Angie Dahl
TV Riverdale
TV Riverdale The CW

On the surface, Riverdale seems like a sleepy town, but this is all a facade. The first season of Riverdale had teens investigating the murder of a fellow high school student and the second season has them dealing with a serial killer and the mob. Even their quaint little diner isn’t safe from crime! Due to the dark nature of the show and its ability to abruptly change direction, Riverdale fans are constantly theorizing what could happen next. Some of these theories are pretty weird, but Jughead fans like weird, right? We’ve rounded up the six weirdest, most outlandish Riverdale theories for you to share with your friends over a milkshake.

Betty Is Pregnant

Betty Cooper and Jughead Jones
The tension between these two was too much to bear.

In season two’s episode, “Chapter Twenty-Five: The Wicked and the Divine,” Bughead fans lost their minds when Betty and Jughead finally had sex. Blissful Betty goes home only to find a dead body in her living room that her mom is furiously trying to clean up. Because of this, Betty spends some time in the next episode vomiting.

Reddit user brontton thinks that it’s not the image of a dead body that’s causing Betty to vomit, but that she’s pregnant. Now, morning sickness does not start right away — that’s just not how the female body works. However, this could be foreshadowing that Betty is pregnant. Both Alice and Polly Cooper, Betty’s mom and sister, got pregnant in high school. However, with so many storylines left to tie up, adding another pregnancy into the mix doesn’t seem likely.

The Coopers Are Witches

Betty Cooper and Alice Cooper
Spellman family resemblance? Maybe.

Fans are trying to find ways to connect Riverdale with the as-of-yet titled The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina series, which share the same comic universe. Many have come to the conclusion that Alice Cooper must be a witch. She is clearly used to keeping secrets, and the Cooper kids do have a dark streak that runs through them (see: Dark Betty).

Dark Betty Cooper
Definitely a streak of darkness in this one.

Additionally, as this BuzzFeed video points out, in the Sabrina comics, witches get to choose whether to be magical or live life as a mortal. Fans say Alice could be a witch who has chosen, for some reason, to raise her children as mortals. Fans have also thought Chic could actually be Sabrina, or Sabrina is one of Polly’s babies. While these theories are highly unlikely, they are at least highly entertaining.

Nothing in Riverdale Is Real

Jughead Jones at his computer
Our narrator and favorite weirdo at his computer.

Reddit user BitterRepresentative has a theory that will change how the show will end. Every episode begins and ends with Jughead’s narration, often while sitting at his computer. This could mean that everything we’ve seen on Riverdale could be nothing more than plot points in his book. Nothing is real.

This has been done in television shows before: Roseanne ended with a similar reveal. However, Roseanne was a sitcom, whereas Riverdale is a teen drama. Ending the show with nothing being real is too extreme for a drama. If anything, the show could be Jughead’s embellishment of events that happened in Riverdale, and the show could end with him showing the gang his finished book.

Ben Will Connect the Dots

Ben and Miss Grundy
Dark deeds follow this guy around.

Riverdale has given us a lot of characters to keep track of, so you may have forgotten about Ben. On three separate occasions, he has appeared before something terrible happens. Reddit user moredevine laid out these “coincidences.” First, Ben is selling concessions at the drive-in before Sheriff Keller’s work gets stolen. Then, he’s Miss Grundy’s final piano student before the Black Hood murders her.

The last time we see him, Chic and Ben are at a “job interview” at the Cooper residence before Betty comes home to a dead body. It would be a huge twist if Ben connected the dots to all the dark events in Riverdale, especially if he’s the one working with a real FBI agent. Realistically, the actor who plays him is probably just good to work with on set and readily available.

Nana Rose Is the Black Hood

Nana Rose
Senile or schemer? We don't know for sure.

When Nana Rose revealed to Betty that Polly and Jason were engaged, we all thought she did it accidentally because she was senile. It turns out, her senility could be a ruse to protect her family and get revenge. Reddit user ashkestar convincingly laid out the case for this, including opportunity, method, and motive.

Nana Rose has got nothing but time on her hands, and if you look at all the victims, they could be traced back to an unfortunate interaction with a Blossom. Conway could have carried out Nana Rose’s orders to take out these people and toy with Betty. But it’s hard to believe that Nana Rose had the strength to lift a phone to her ear to make these commands.

The Black Hood Is Actually a Secret Society

The Blossoms
Blossom family picture ... and Archie.

This whole time, fans have been focusing on the Black Hood as one person. Though Conway revealed he was the Black Hood, fans didn’t believe it was the end of this story. While many characters have been theorized to be the real Black Hood, Reddit user whitneyflorence thinks the Black Hood is an old secret society from the founding of Riverdale.

The secret society would include the old families of Riverdale: the Blossoms, the Coopers, the Kellers, and the Lodges. Their mission would be to keep Riverdale safe and idyllic, so any threat to that would be taken out. But what about the blood on the founding families’ hands? That’s why there’s the Black Hood, a rogue member determined to punish even its founders. However, with a season that’s transitioning to a mob storyline, it would be rough to introduce yet another group.

Riverdale has a way of continuing to shock us, so perhaps one of these weird theories could be true. Whatever happens next, we know that it will keep these crazy, fun conversations going late into the night. But that’s what diners are for.

Angie Dahl
Angie is a FANDOM writer whose hobbies include boxing and going to Disneyland. She's easily bribed by coffee and easily excited by the latest in sci-fi, fantasy, or superhero movies. A Ravenclaw at heart, she'll read the book before she watches the thing.